By TYLER HENRY
Salina Post contributor
After making the drop to Class 2A, the Southeast of Saline Trojans haven’t missed a beat, marching out to a 5-0 start with a point differential of +144.
SES has been ranked as the #1 team in 2A since the preseason rankings were released and show no signs of relinquishing that title with a pair of wins over tough 3A teams in #5 Rock Creek and Clay Center.
“I think we’re progressing and I believe we’ve been getting better every week,” SES head coach Mitch Gebhardt said. “Our practices are far from perfect but the more work we put in there the better we get on Friday nights. Our lines have done a great job for most of the season and our defense has responded well to a number of different challenges.”
Over the years the Trojans have built their brand on flashy but balanced offense and stifling defense, both of which have been on full display this season.
Defensively, Southeast has held their opponents to just 12.6 points per game and currently boasts the #8 scoring defense and #9 total defense (191 yds/g) in Class 2A.
On the front the Trojans have wreaked havoc on opposing game plans, racking up nine sacks while the Southeast secondary has ball-hawked their way to five picks.
“Our linebacker play has become a real strength of this team,” Gebhardt said. “We had some talented athletes coming back at those spots and they’ve done an outstanding job of directing our defense."
Offensively it’s been another monster season for quarterback Luke Gebhardt, who has completed 70% of his passes for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns in just five games.
Gebhardt has also carried the ball a team-leading 75 times for 426 yards and five touchdowns, complimented by speedster Nate Friesen who adds 400 more yards and eight scores out of the Trojan backfield.
SES has flexed its depth in the receiving corps as well as through five games four different pass catchers have 140 or more receiving yards, led by Michael Murray and Jake Gebhardt who combine for over 500 yards and 8 touchdowns.
"Our skill guys on offense have gotten us through some rough times and both of our lines have done an outstanding job of improving as the year has gone on,” Gebhardt said.
Despite holding the second-longest regular-season winning streak in the state at 21 games, Coach Gebhardt and company remain committed to ironing out the finer details as the team gears up for a big November run.
“The last couple of games we’ve cleaned up our penalties but we have to turn the ball over less,” he said. “Ball security is a big deal and we need to make sure we’re taking care of that football better than we have been.”
Along with Nemaha Central (5-0) and Kingman (5-0), SES will likely be a favorite to win it all in Class 2A this season, but thoughts of that run have yet to become the focus of the Trojan locker room.
“We’re not talking a whole lot about championships right now, we’ve got Hillsboro this week and we have several games ahead of us before we even get to the playoffs,” Gebhardt said. “Every team in the state wants a chance to win it all but right now our focus is on playing well this week and continuing to get better.”
SES will be back in action on Friday night when they host the 1-4 Hillsboro Trojans before traveling to Lyons and closing out their season against undefeated #5 Ellsworth in what could be both a league and district championship game.